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Passed CISSP in first attempt - 3 months study

niceguy200458niceguy200458 Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
in SSCP
First of all a big thank you to all forum members for sharing your experiences which helped me a loticon_lol.gif

I have 6 years experience in IT Security and studied for 3 months before giving this exam a go.
I DID NOT read any of the books as I started with Shon Harris and found it too verbose so quickly switched to following plan

1.) Watched CBT nuggets by Keith Barker - This is good for basic understanding. Does not go in depth

2.) Downloaded and read the CISSP combined notes from this forum - These are excellent

3.) Dived straight in to practice exams. I used the following
a.) CCCure paid version
b.) McGraw Hill exams - McGraw-Hill Education | CISSP Practice Exams
c.) Eric Conrad exams - Elsevier: conrad: CISSP Study Guide Practice Exams

4.) Most important step is to read explanations for the correct and incorrect answers. This helped me understand the subtle difference between various concepts which may not be clear from reading any books or watching nuggets

5.) Updated the combined notes with key points from step 4. Once all questions were done, memorized the combined notes till they were on the tip of my tongue

6.) Did all exams again which took me a week. Marked key questions for last day revision.

7.) Referred to Conrad for a couple of topics which were contradicting between the various practice exams

As far as the actual exam goes, my experience was key in answering many questions. As many have said before it is important to look at the big picture and not as a techie.

Took two 30 min breaks; one for lunch (after 150 questions) and second after completing all 250 questions. Used every minute of the 6 hours to finish reviewing about 70 flagged questions.
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    papadocpapadoc Member Posts: 154
    Congrats! I am taking my test on March 28th. I used both Conrad books to prepare along with SANS MP3 audio and just finishing up the CBT Nuggets videos as well.

    I was using Transcender and a bunch of other test engines as well, but I've put those on pause for now until I finish the 11th hour and the videos and will use the last 2 weeks to just hit the test quizzes hard to figure out where I still have gaps in knowledge.

    Your test method is encouraging! I don't know how people here read AIO MULTIPLE times! They are better men than me!
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    niceguy200458niceguy200458 Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Whatever works for you !! If you want to read a book Conrad 11th hour is enough. Remember ALL exam questions are different from practice tests.
    Your experience comes in really handy to select the right answer icon_lol.gif
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    impelseimpelse Member Posts: 1,237 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats
    Stop RDP Brute Force Attack with our RDP Firewall : http://www.thehost1.com
    It is your personal IPS to stop the attack.

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    niceguy200458niceguy200458 Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Thanks:D
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    ChuzpahChuzpah Member Posts: 68 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Awesome! Congrats on the pass. I sit for my exam on the 14th of April, I have a similar study approach and using most of the same study tools so hopefully I will pass the first time as well. icon_wink.gif
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    GForce75GForce75 Member Posts: 222
    Congrats! Did you have that dreaded feeling when you walked to go get the results? I hated the fact that they do not show up right away... but eh... you get to beat yourself up for a good few minutes until they give you your results.
    Doctoral Candidate - BA (33/60hrs) ~ MBA/Project Management ~ BA/Business-IT
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    niceguy200458niceguy200458 Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Thanks Chuzpah.

    @GForce75, Yes it was a bit nerve wrecking. I was asked to go to reception and the printer started printing multiple pages which as per guys on forum is when you fail and get details about your strong/weak areas etc !!! Luckily my result was already printed and the receptionist folded and handed over a single piece of paper. It would be nice if they tell you verbally what your score was :)
    GForce75 wrote: »
    Congrats! Did you have that dreaded feeling when you walked to go get the results? I hated the fact that they do not show up right away... but eh... you get to beat yourself up for a good few minutes until they give you your results.
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    fuz1onfuz1on Member Posts: 961 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats!
    timku.com(puter) | ProHacker.Co(nsultant) | ITaaS.Co(nstultant) | ThePenTester.net | @fuz1on
    Transmosis | http://transmosis.com | LinkedIn | https://linkedin.com/in/t1mku
    If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it. - Epictetus
    The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows. - Buddha
    If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you. - Unknown
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    GForce75GForce75 Member Posts: 222
    Haha, I wish I would have known that. I have known the test admin for quite some time and she gave me a blank stare with a single piece of paper and didn't know what to make of it. That's great! Go take yourself out for a well-deserved treat and enjoy sleeping once again!
    Doctoral Candidate - BA (33/60hrs) ~ MBA/Project Management ~ BA/Business-IT
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    MeanandMeanand Member Posts: 40 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Congrats...
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    niceguy200458niceguy200458 Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Thanks Meanand.

    @ GForce75 Oh I've had one treat too many icon_lol.gif
    GForce75 wrote: »
    Haha, I wish I would have known that. I have known the test admin for quite some time and she gave me a blank stare with a single piece of paper and didn't know what to make of it. That's great! Go take yourself out for a well-deserved treat and enjoy sleeping once again!
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    ccnpninjaccnpninja Member Posts: 1,010 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats!
    my blog:https://keyboardbanger.com
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    Genesis99Genesis99 Member Posts: 17 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Congrats I remember when I passed mine I looked at the printout with one eye open
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